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Holland is preparing to say goodbye to the UK with a big beach party (Picture: Getty)

There are now just 71 days until Brexit – and Europe is already planning a leaving party.

Thousands of people have signed up for a Dutch beach party featuring food from across Europe to mark our departure.

The idea was created by Ron Toekook who wants to bid us a bittersweet farewell on October 31 at the seaside village of Wijk aan Zee near Amsterdam.

More than 9,000 people have already said they will attend while 62,000 others are interested, according to a Facebook post.

Media worker Mr Toekook said: ‘It will be a nice goodbye to a good friend who is going on an exciting adventure, but is perhaps not too bright.’

Dutch revellers will mark our departure with European food at a beach party (Picture: Getty)

The party will involve ‘sitting in a deck chair with Dutch chips, French wine and German beer, watching Britain as it closes itself off.’

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He added: ‘If there is enough interest there may be a band that can play… “We’ll Meet Again”.’

Suggestions for other songs to be played included Dutch novelty boyband ‘Breunion Boys’ and their single ‘Britain Come Back’.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is attempting to lay down the law to Brussels over the Irish backstop as the clock ticks down to our Halloween departure from the bloc.

He told the EU that the backstop – an insurance policy designed to keep the border open – was ‘simply unviable’.

He wants to replace it with a new legal commitment to avoid the return of a hard border, which would break the Good Friday Agreement.

However, the Prime Minister has been given short shrift by the European Council president Donald Tusk.

The Facebook post advertising the beach party (Picture: Alex Hickson)

Last night, Mr Johnson attempted to strike a more conciliatory tone and said he was going to enter talks with our ‘friends’ in the EU ‘with a lot of oomph.’

He will meet Germany’s Angela Merkel today in Berlin before heading to Paris on Thursday to see French President Emmanuel Macron.

On Tuesday, British officials announced they would stop attending most EU meetings from September 1 to free up more time to work on Brexit.

The Department for Exiting the European Union said UK officials will now attend only the meetings that ‘really matter’ of more than 800 scheduled.

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said British attendance would drop by more than half, freeing up ‘hundreds of hours’ to work on ‘get on with preparing for our departure on October 31 and seizing the opportunities that lie ahead.’